Things Aren't Always in Black and White
by Angel Weasel-Woman
Summary: After coming in contact with a mysterious bracelet, Joey Wheeler finds himself in a place called Eden. There he, along with his consciences, must fight a dark entity whose power has been growing for mellenia in order to protect the land.
1. Bracelet

Joey Wheeler collapsed backwards into the tattered brown sofa. After an entire day of looking upon the glaring white of the hospital for an entire day while he waited for her sister to have her operation, looking at even the nasty colored couch seemed a blessing. Leaning his head back, he placed his hand in his mass of unruly dirty blond hair, and closed his mahogany eyes. For several moments, he sat there, completely content for the first time in a long time. It was then that a softly pulsing glow flickered across his eyelids, causing his vision to flash red.

With a soft growl, Joey's eyes snapped open and he sat up, looking about for the source of the glow. Now that he was aware of it, the glowing became stronger, the pulsing more urgent. Standing cautiously, he followed the flashes down the hall, finding his way to a room with the door closed to a crack. With a soft blink, he pushed the door open all the way.

The flashing stopped.

Joey gave the room an odd glance and was just about to leave when a glint of something from the floor caught his eye. With a quirked eyebrow, he made his way over to the object and his breath caught in his throat.

The object in question was a beautifully made gold bracelet with small Egyptian hieroglyphs running around the back of it. But the one thing that caused Joey to start what the large Eye of Ra on it.

As he looked upon the item, he could feel his heart pounding, his body aching; his very soul seemed to reach out for the golden item. Hardly hesitating, he peered closer, reaching for the bracelet, intending for nothing more than to inspect it further. However, he was very surprised as he felt something jerk on his body the second he touched the cold gold. For a moment his world went pitch black before exploding in white, blinding pain.

The last thing he heard before fully losing consciousness was an exasperated voice cry out, "Great! Another one!"

Seto Kaiba grunted into her pillow as a shrill ringing filled her room. Propping herself up onto her elbows, she snatched the cordless phone from her bedside table and snapped, "What the hell do you want?!"

As she heard the words from the other end of the line, her face paled.

"Oh, Ra…"

*gags at the shortness of her chapter; twitch*

Kura : It sucks! And so do you!

Yami: Quiet you! You'll make her cry!

Angel: *sniffle* Too late… *sob*

Yami and Kura : *sigh; sweatdrop*

Yami: *glares at Kura * Insensitive jerk.

Kura : Why, arigato.

Yami: Grr… *starts arguing*

Angel: *sniffle; decides to ignore muses (which is uber-hard since Yami is _right there_)* Anyways, this is going to wind up being a rather interesting crossover that will include elements vital to my other stories. Also, Gem, I _am writing this to piss you off, so - HA! I also (seed to find a synonym for that word… meh - too lazy) want to say "Arigato" to my beta reader - Chiru-chan! Soo…_

All three: Arigato!

Yami and Kura : *go back to fighting*

Angel: *sigh; rolls eyes* I guess I'd better say it than. Ahem. I don't own Yugioh. There - said and done! Ato de aimasho!! ^.^ 


	2. Explinations

Joey groaned as consciousness slowly returned to him. Quietly at first, but growing louder with each passing second, the sound of talking and laughing wafted past his ears. A zephyr brought with it a gentle scent of wild flowers, the smell of wet grass and a soft ocean mist.

As the blond lay there, regaining his senses, he was vaguely aware of the sound of footsteps approaching and someone grumbling under their breath. When the footsteps died away, there was a small pause before something nudged his shoulder.

"C'mon, you," and exasperated voice called to him. "Get up. I don't have eternity" - quieter - "unlike you guys…"

Joey gave a soft grunt as he opened his eyes to see a blurry figure standing above him. As his vision cleared and the image of whoever it was sharpened, he saw just what it was.

And screamed.

Seto Kaiba bolted inside the hospital, nearly running down several people. As she just about slammed herself into a nearby service desk, she managed to pant out, "Joey Wheeler… What room…? Tell me now…!"

The secretary blinked looked up at the multi-billionaire's disheveled appearance. Seto was dressed in a pair of black jeans with the right leg torn off halfway down and a deep violet shirt with the sleeves missing. Her emerald hair was wild, as if it hadn't met a brush in quite a while. Wolf-gold eyes burrowed into the secretary's as he spoke.

"Gomen nasai, demo, only family is allowed in right now…"

Seto practically collapsed on the desk. "Nani?! What the heck do you mean 'Only family'? What about me?!"

"Hospital rules, Kaiba-san."

Seto glared at him for a moment before speaking once more.

"Oh, you suck."

Mieuu looked up from his clipboard just long enough to see a brilliant flash of golden light.

"Great!" the humanoid black cat cried. "Another one!"

Heaving a sigh, he walked up to the new arrival and, after scribbling the word 'banished' on his clipboard and switching to a new sheet, looked upon them. Quickly his golden eyes took in ever detail of the arrival and he scribbled them all down. Just as he was about to arouse the blond, loud screaming caught his ears. Growling and twitching his tail, he cursed whoever thought it funny that he be stuck with the job of guarding the new gods and goddesses that happened along.

Within the blink of an eye, Mieuu had transported himself from close to the edge of the God's Playground to the mountainous region near the middle. At finding the source of the screaming, the black cat growled. He turned to a goddess with a sickly green glow.

"Rosetta! Cut it out!"

The goddess smirked and asked innocently, "Cut what out?" She then threw the bowling ball she held at a nearby village, causing more screams.

"That!" Mieuu cried, exasperated.

Rosetta looked to the crushed village, to the cat, then shrugged and began to throw the pins about. Mieuu growled and was about to start yelling when there was a flash of crimson, and a dragon-half god flung himself at the offending goddess. Rosetta gave a cry and blinked out, reappearing on her feet next to the island's forest.

"Ryuujin you jerk! You just have to ruin all my fun, don't you?!"

The boy merely lashed his scaly tail. "When you become a full goddess and never have to return, you can be as black-hearted as you want, but until then you _will_ obey all of Mieuu's laws."

Rosetta snarled before vanishing to a distant part of the island. Ryuujin turned to Mieuu, who gave him a gracious smile. "Thanks, Ryuujin."

"Don't worry about it. I know she's been giving you trouble – she had it coming." Ryuujin grinned and fluttered his leathery wings. "Besides, you need to get the new arrival."

Mieuu made a face. "Thanks for reminding me," he mumbled, sarcasm dripping off his every word.

Ryuujin smirked and flew off to help repair the village. Mieuu sighed and transported himself to where the blond last lie. After a surprised blink as to why the boy wasn't up yet, the cat shrugged it off to him hitting his head. He reached out and nudged the blond with his toe. "C'mon you." At the boy's unresponsiveness, he growled. "Get up. I don't have eternity – " he then added softly " – unlike you guys…"

Finally, the boy grunted softly. Opening slightly glazed chocolate brown eyes, he blinked softly. At last the blond focused completely on Mieuu, who quirked an eyebrow at him.

The boy screamed.

Seto growled softly as she plunked down in a chair just outside Joey's room. After several minutes of whining, Yuugi had caught up with her and one puppy-eyed pleading later, the two were off.

Not that it did anything for Seto's mood in the least.

The light emerald haired teen looked up and gave the boy a grateful smile. "Arigato, Yuugi."

"Don't worry about it Seto-chan. I'm sure you're just as worried about Joey as we are."

Seto smiled gently. "Ne… Just were are the others?"

"Well, his mother and Shizuka are on their way here with Ryou. Isis is back in Egypt along with Honda, so that'll take them a while to get here. Anzu is in New York at that dance school. And, last I heard, Angel, Yami, Shaenaur, and Malik were on their way, but you know about how hard it is for them to navigate that Temple of theirs."

Seto groaned and tilted her head back, a soft smile playing on her lips. Oh, how she remembered. The sisters had been showing their friends around their Zelda-like Temple of a home, but, unfortunately, Angel had held the map. Ultimately, they had found themselves three floors up and in front of a wall before the half-breed had figured out the map she was holding was upside down. It was an experience Seto never wanted to repeat again in the course of her existence.

Yuugi gave her a knowing grin. "Worst day of my life, too. I thought we'd never get out of there."

Seto lifted her head slightly, grinning. Before she could say or do anything, the door to Joey's room opened and a doctor stepped out. The golden eyed teen leapt to her feet

"What happened? Is he ok? Can we go in? Is he ok?!"

The doctor held up a hand to silence the teen. He then looked first at her, then to Yuugi.

Joey's eyes were wide with fright. He scrambled back a bit, focused on the cat. It slowly uncovered its ears, glaring at him.

"Please tell me that isn't your name. I will _die_ if I have to hear it over and over again."

It shook its head and glanced at him. "That isn't your name… is it?"

Joey blinked in confusion and shook his head.

The cat readjusted the grip it had on its clipboard. "Then what is your name?"

"Joey," the blond stated without thinking. "Joey Wheeler."

The cat scribbled it down without hesitation. "Species?"

Joey blinked again. "Nani?"

The cat sighed. "What is your species? From the looks of it human, but I can't see your ears…"

"I'm human."

"Alright. Now, what dimension?"

The blond gave it a blank stare. "… What?"

Another frustrated sigh. "What dimension are you from. You're human and you speak Japanese, so that would narrow you down to Mobius, Mars, Earth -"

"There. I'm from Earth," Joey interrupted, feeling a bit creeped out. As the cat scribbled away, more and more questions filled the boy's head. Why was this thing asking him so many questions? Where was he exactly?

Finally, the cat finished writing, placed the clipboard on the ground, and stuck out a paw. As the cat spoke, he sounded almost bored with the whole thing. "My name is Mieuu, blah, blah, blah…" Joey took the outstretched paw after a moment out thought and was hauled to his feet. "I'm here to help you, yadda, yadda." The cat held his shoulder and began to dust the boy off. "Under my training you shall become a full god and bring whatever you wish - peace and lover or torment and pain - it doesn't matter to me one single bit. Any questions?"

Joey blinked and stared at Mieuu. So many questions buzzed around in his head, but one made itself know immediately. "God…?"

Mieuu nodded. "Yes, you are one of the few from your dimension the twins Destiny and Fate have selected to come here, the God's Playground, to receive training."

"What are you talking about? And what do you mean 'receive training?"

The cat gave a frustrated growl. "It means, that of the billions of people in your dimension - Earth - you were chosen to receive the training to make you a god."

Joey blinked slowly as the information sunk in. "Then… that means…"

"You are now a Demi-god."

Seto paled as the doctors words echoed through her head, drowning out all other thoughts.

_"He's in a coma."_

A rough hand clasped her shoulder. "Are you going to be alright, Kaiba-chan?"

She nodded vaguely, "H-hai… May we see him now?"

"One at a time, of course."

Wolf-gold eyes met amethyst.

"Go ahead, Seto-chan. I… I don't think I can look at him right now."

The teen nodded, concern for the pale boy swallowed up by the need to see her friend. Shakily, she stepped up to the door and, after a moment's hesitation, stepped inside. Her gaze was held by the sight of the tall blond boy laying on a bed in the sterilized white room. Tears filled her eyes as she glanced over his life-support system. Unconsciously, she sought out a chair and sat down. Reaching out, she gently caressed his arm.

"Joey…"

First chapter done! Go me!

Kura : You suck!

Angel: Shut up! Do the translations!

Kura : *grumble grumble*

Gomen nasai - I'm sorry

Demo - but/however

Nani - What

Arigato - Thank you

Ryuujin - Dragon King

There! Happy?!

Angel: Nevah!

Yami: *rolls eyes* Ok, _children_. Stop fighting.

Angel: *latches self to Yami; stick tongue out at Kura * Jerk…

Kura : *growl* Aren't you forgetting something?

Angel: *sigh* Might as well. I dun own Yugioh. I am simply not that creative.

Kura : As we can all tell from this… *gets his with a blunt object*

Yami: *puts blunt object away* Now I see why you do this all the time - it's fun!

Angel: *grin; turns to readers* Now, first off, I realize I made Kaiba a girl - please stop telling me this. Allow me _some originality. Also, I need y'all's help… I need to know what creature Joey should get. I'm leaning towards wolf, really, but I wanna know what you think. Ato de aimasho! _


	3. A Sen'nen Item

Seto sighed softly. Could it already have been two months – two long, horrible, depressing months – since Joey had fallen into his coma? Leaning forward in her chair, she intertwined her fingers with the blonde's and glared at the bracelet on his right arm.

"This is all your fault," she hissed at it.

~*~*~_flash_*~*~*~

"Joey…" Seto whimpered. She had been sitting by his side for several days now, silent tears streaming down her face. Glancing him over, thinking of what to say that might possibly reach him, when she noticed a golden bracelet attached to his right wrist. She blinked in confusion and gently leaned over his body. Grasping his hand, for something deep within her warned her about touching the gold, she inspected the jewelry.

Hieroglyphs decorated the top and bottom of the bangle. Something sparked in her memory, but she could not read what they said. As she looked the bracelet over, she gasped as she saw the eye of Ra staring at her.

A sen'nen item!

Gently placing Joey's arm back on the bed, she rushed out of the room only to run head-on into someone. Rubbing her head, she picked herself off the floor and looked at who she'd run into.

Sitting on the floor and clutching at her head was a girl around the age of fifteen dressed in a long baby blue nightshirt with the word "MEEP!" written down the front in vibrant yellow and a pair of baggy blue jeans. Her soft auburn hair was put up in a long braid trailing down her back and pooling on the floor. Hidden behind golden-framed glasses, chocolate brown eyes glared up at Seto. Poking out from her hair was a pair of baby blue weasel ears that matched the puffy tail that was thrashing angrily.

"Oh, I _so_ appreciate the _apology_, ya jerk," Angel claimed sarcastically after a moment.

"Ah, gomen, Angel." Set reached down and extended a hand to help her up.

The other girl took the outstretched hand and was yanked unsteadily to her feet. Before she could fall over, her self-adopted sister steadied her.

The taller elven girl may have been only a few moths Angel's senior but was much more mature. Her strawberry blond hair caught the hospital's light as she tucked a few strands behind her pointed ear. With a swish of her white neko-tail, she turned her hazel eyes to Seto.

"Hello. I'm sorry we had to meet again under these circumstances."

Seto bit her bottom lip and managed a small smile for a second. She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. Closing her eyes briefly, she turned to Yami – who, along with Malik, had accompanied the two girls to the hospital - and prepared to speak before something rammed itself into her body, sobbing. Seto had instinctively wrapped her arms about the person protectively and comfortingly before even noting who it was.

Happy-go-lucky Angel the ditz was leaning against the tall teen, crying her eyes out on her shoulder.

Gently, Seto began to rock back and forth, feeling tears spring to her own eyes. Poor Angel – the girl with a smile and a laugh for all her close, and few, friends. She must have been like this ever since she found out that one of her best friends – one she considered niisama – had fallen into a coma.

The emerald-haired teen glanced around the waiting room. Sitting in the waiting chairs, Yuugi leaned against his guardian spirit, Yami, drawing from him strength and support; Ryou was clutching the sen'nen ring tightly, tears threatening to spill from his jade eyes. Hovering near the door to Joey's room, Shaenaur nervously fidgeted until a touch on the shoulder from Malik calmed her slightly. Shizuka, having arrived only ten minutes after Seto on the first day, sat near Yuugi with tears falling down her face as she pleaded with her mother who was pacing the room while muttering about not wanting to be there.

For a flash of a moment, Seto felt an, almost, uncontrollable rage at the woman. Just what kind of horrible mother didn't want to be there while her only son was in a coma? Something in her body must have changed to harmonize with her thoughts, for Angel pulled away slightly and looked at her, her glasses askew and eyes shimmering.

"Seto-chan…? Are you ok?"

The taller girl gently patted Angel on the top of her head. "As much as I will be."

Angel fluttered her wings and cooed softly. Fixing her glasses so that she could actually see, she glanced about the room herself. Letting her gaze rest upon Joey's mother, she stood on her tiptoes and whispered into Seto's ear, "I think she's an uber-bitch, too."

The wolf-eyed teen grinned softly and gave Angel a final hug before letting her go. The auburn-haired teen smiled sadly before she bounced over to Yami and Yuugi. Pausing, she gave her boyfriend a peck on the cheek and playfully ruffled Yuugi's hair. Seto smiled gently at the display of sisterly affection that Angel was so good at.

Heaving a sigh, Seto looked to the ancient pharaoh. "Yami?"

The tri-haired male looked up and walked over to her. "Hai, Seto? What is it?"

"Well… I found something that I think you should see..."

Yami tilted his head to one side, interested.

"Come with me." Seto could only pray that Angel didn't take this the wrong way as she led Yami into Joey's room. Gently, she lifted the still blonde's arm and showed the bracelet.

Taking Joey's hand into his own, Yami inspected the hieroglyphs for a few minutes.

"Well? Can you read them?" Seto asked, anxious to know what they said but afraid to know what they meant.

Yami closed his eyes softly, mentally translating the ancient Egyptian into modern Japanese.

"A dark god was has been sealed away but when his power becomes unruly, a god of light shall appear to rescue all from slavery." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Joey sighed as he lay back on the beach. Vaguely, he wondered just how long it had been since he'd shown up in the God's Playground. After the first few weeks, the blond had lost count of the days. He suspected upwards of a few months at least. 

_Just how long will I stay here before I'm called upon? Joey questioned himself. After spending so much time at the Playground, he'd gotten to know many other demi-gods and goddesses – some of whom had been there for around ten years. _

Closing his eye – though, because he was a half-god, he had no reason nor the ability to sleep and eat – he lay still, listening to the gentle crashing of the waves and mindless chattering of the other soon-to-be-deities. After a moment, he blinked open his eyes to the vivid colors of sunset. Sitting up, he looked around. He'd just heard something. 

_"Help us!" _

What was that? He looked at his body and blinked in confusion. Now, a soft golden glow that radiated from his body was normal, but now the light was almost blinding and pulsing along to his heartbeat.

_"Someone – save our child!" _

_"We call to the heavens!"_

"Joey!"

The blond stood at his name and looked to Mieuu who was now only ten feet away. "Mieuu? What's going on?"

"You're being called. Congratulations – don't get banished."

"Nani? Banished?"

That was all Joey could get out before his own golden glow enveloped him and sent him across the many dimensions to his final destination.

Eden .

Done with revisions!

Kura : Bout time too.

Angel: *glare* Well, _excuse me_ for being lazy.

Kura : You're excused. ^^

Angel: Grr… I would so love to hurt you right now.

Yami: What's stopping you?

Angel: … Good question. *starts beating Bakura over the head with a metallic pole that fell off her bed*

Kura : ITAI!! *flees* I'm not coming back, you know!

Angel: Do I care?! *to self* Wait a minute… I need him… *yells at Kura * Get back here you! *chases; to Yami* Do the RQaABtRCA for me!

Yami: *sigh* Fine…

Q - Why is Seto a girl?

A - Yami: Angel gets this question a lot and feels that, for once, she should tell why. And the reason is… she doesn't want to tell yet.

Everyone: *facefault* -_-;;;;;;

Yami: But don't worry - Angel will be doing a fic explaining all of her reasoning (least she'd better…).

Q - (In the last chapter) Why does everyone but Joey have their Japanese names?

A - Yami: Don't worry. All shall be revealed in due time…

Q - What does Mieuu mean by 'called'?

A - Yami: That shall also be answered soon enough.

Angel: *whilst dragging and unconscious Bakura back* Is that all the questions?

Yami: All I can think of.

Angel: Okey-day then. If you have any more questions, don't be afraid to ask them. And also, I still need help on the creature Joey should get. *glances at fic* And, I think this is one of the rare few fics that Joey's anime/official parents have been kept his _real_ parents (don't understand - read Adopted)… wow.

And as always, I don't own YuugiOu or Black and White. Ja ne! 


End file.
